


Roles to Fill

by angeltrumpets



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, HQ Brofest Rookie Tier, Haikyuu!! Brofest 2018, Hinata Shouyou & Yachi Hitoka Friendship, Hinata Shouyou makes anyone feel better, Karasuno loses, Self-Doubt, Yachi Hitoka-centric, mentions of third years leaving, will probably be contradicted in the future when the manga finishes this match, written when the Battle at the Trash Heap was still ongoing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 10:59:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14187438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angeltrumpets/pseuds/angeltrumpets
Summary: (Manga spoilers for match-ups of nationals)After Karasuno loses the Battle at the Trash Heap, the reality that the third years are going to be leaving becomes more apparent. Yachi in particular is worried about whether she really is ready to be the team's sole manager.





	Roles to Fill

The bus was dead silent.

It wasn’t like the usual journeys home, where the bus would be quiet from everyone having fallen asleep from exhaustion. There was too much going on in everyone’s head right now, too many emotions to process, to fall asleep.  

This was the first time Yachi had experienced such a bus ride. She had seen the team lose many times before at the training camp, but the stakes then had been low and the atmosphere much less tense.

A loss against Nekoma at nationals had much more impact than a loss against them in a practice match after all.

Yachi hadn’t been a part of the team when they had been defeated by Aoba Johsai some time back. She had no idea of the extent of how hard it was to lose a game in an official match. Especially one that been so important, and where the score had been so _close_ …!

Yachi tried to reason to herself that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it felt, and she could tell that the rest of the team was trying to do the same as they sat in silence on the bus. Nationals had been where the team had aimed to reach, and in nationals they had competed. It wasn’t as if they had been defeated in the first round either. They had won against the powerful team of Inarizaki. They had proven to Japan that they were no longer the flightless crows, and that they were a threat, a fierce murder, which was only going to get stronger. The Battle at the Trash Heap that people across generations had been looking forward to had happened after all this time. There was so much they had accomplished to be happy about.

Yet, despite their successes, their loss still hurt. They had yet again been unable to beat Nekoma, and by such a slight margin. Not to mention that the match had been the last match for the third years, and would be the one that marked the end of their high school volleyball experiences.

The realisation that it really was the end of volleyball with Daichi, Sugawara, Asahi and Kiyoko was becoming more prominent in everyone’s minds during the journey home. While they were playing volleyball, they could focus on the game and indulge in the thought that they could continue to win match after match together and never stop. But unfortunately, reality had to be faced sooner or later.

Yachi had been getting more involved in her position as the new manager in the lead-up to this day, preparing for when the third years would be finished. Understanding the game and how everyone worked together, observing Kiyoko closely when she was doing duties as manager and learning from her when they spent time together. She had been feeling more and more ready for the role that she was soon to take on.

But when the team had lost as they had today, Yachi hadn’t known what to do. When the match had ended with Nekoma’s final point, Yachi had felt the weight of Karasuno’s devastation even up in the stands where she watched. And she had felt useless in dealing with it. When she met back up with the team afterwards, she didn’t know what to say to anyone, even though the silence in the air was begging for something to be said. She wanted to say something, to offer some words of comfort or encouragement, but nothing she thought of felt right.

Maybe she wasn’t as ready as she had thought.

Sure it wasn’t the manager’s job to solve every situation of the team, especially not this one, but Yachi’s feeling of uselessness was a reminder that she wasn’t entirely confident in having to step up from here on out. Their loss had been a clear indication that there were still areas of her role as the manager where she had no clue how to begin her approach.

Their loss against Nekoma continued to weigh on Yachi’s mind even after the bus arrived back home, and into the days that followed. She didn’t get the chance to voice any of her thoughts until one late afternoon a week later, when she was making her way out of the school. As she was walking past the gym, she could hear from inside the distinct squeaking sound of shoes on the floor and the echo of a volleyball making contact. She carefully approached the door of the gym, peering through the gap where it was open.

Inside the gym was Hinata, with numerous loose volleyballs scattered around him on the floor. Yachi peered around the door, searching for Kageyama, who surely would be close by. She frowned as she took in the emptiness of the rest of the gym. No sight of Kageyama. Without Kageyama there to set for Hinata, how was Hinata practising?

Looking back to Hinata, Yachi took closer notice of how Hinata was practising. He was standing further back from the net than he usually was when he practised. He was neither tossing the ball up to himself to spike over the net or to a wall, nor was he practising hitting serves across the court. Instead, Hinata stood with his knees slightly bent and his hands together low and in front of him. He was frowning in concentration, with the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth, digging the ball to himself over and over again.  

He was practising receives.

Yachi had noticed as much as everyone else Hinata’s noticeable improvement in receives he had displayed in nationals. He wasn’t on Daichi’s level, but he had definitely gained more of a receiving sense, enough to make a crucial save or two which definitely weren’t accidental.

Hinata swore under his breath as the ball hit an incorrect spot of his arms and rebounded in a sidewards direction. As his gaze followed the ball’s trajectory, he caught sight of Yachi watching him from the doorway.

“Oh, Yachi!” said Hinata, waving a hand in greeting.  

Yachi entered the gym, setting her bag by the doorway. She picked up a ball that was lying on the floor by her feet as Hinata made his way over to her.

“Do you want me to toss for you, Hinata?” she asked, holding the ball out.

Hinata paused before he shook his head, causing Yachi to raise her eyebrows. It was rare that Hinata didn’t leap at the opportunity to spike someone’s tosses, even Yachi’s own poor ones.

Yachi watched as Hinata sat down onto the floor and grabbed the water bottle he had left lying there as he practised. Yachi sat down on the floor next to him, setting down the ball she had picked up, as Hinata leaned against the inside gym wall and sipped at his water bottle.

“Hinata…” Yachi tentatively began. “Why are you practising receives by yourself?”

Hinata swallowed his water and set down the water bottle.

“I was just thinking about what’s gonna change from here on out,” he said. “About our team. We’ll be without our ace, one of our setters, and our reliable captain covering areas in defence that we miss.”

Hinata reached out from his spot on the floor to grab the volleyball Yachi had set down between them. He passed the ball back and forth between his hands as he continued to speak.

“It made me realise that there are parts to our team that we have to step up and fill in.”

Yachi bit her lip at that statement.

“Building on what I’ve learned about receives seemed like a start.”

So Hinata had already figured out what to work on to prepare himself for when the third years left. That was more than what Yachi could say for herself.

“I’ve been having similar thoughts,” she confessed quietly. “It’s going to be a lot different without the third years here. Less… stable in some ways.”

Yachi brought her knees up to her chest where she sat.

“In my case, I don’t know what I’m going to do once Kiyoko leaves. I joined the club late, and I’m still behind everyone when it comes to my understanding of volleyball. It’s making me think about…” she trailed off.

Hinata’s eyes widened. “You’re having second thoughts?”

“Oh no!” Yachi yelped, waving her hands frantically. “That’s not what I meant at all! Don’t get me wrong, I do still really want to be manager!”

Hinata looked relieved, but he frowned.

“What is it then?”

Yachi looked down at the hem of her skirt, fiddling with it as she chose her wording carefully.

“Our loss against Nekoma...”

Yachi cringed as she felt the dip in Hinata’s mood, but she continued.  

“I had no clue what to say to anyone,” she said. “It made me realise that there’s still so much I’m not prepared for as manager. I worry about what’s going to happen from here and the mistakes I’m inevitably going to make when I have to fill the role Kiyoko leaves behind.”

Saying all of this out loud to Hinata hadn’t been Yachi’s intention, especially since he had his own concerns on his mind. Somehow though, he had a way of making himself so easy for other people to open up to. Whether Hinata was aware of this vibe of his, Yachi never knew for sure.

“Why do you think you have to be perfect in the first place?”

Yachi looked up from her skirt and turned to Hinata, who was looking at her with his head slightly tilted.

“No one in the team expects anyone else to never make any mistakes,” he said. “You’re not an exception.” He grinned. “Just look at me. Even after all this time, I’m still making mistakes in every game.”

Yachi decided not to comment on how right he was about that.

“But,” Hinata continued, the passing of the ball between his hands picking up in speed. “Mistakes are all a part of how we learn and grow, aren’t they? You can’t expect yourself to be perfect from the beginning, especially if you lack experience.”

Hinata hadn’t stopped looking at Yachi as he spoke.

“Besides, I already think you’re pretty fantastic, Yachi,” he added, grinning. “I’m sure that you’re gonna be a great manager, and you’ll be unstoppable once you give yourself time to grow into it.”  

Yachi tried to stop herself from smiling at Hinata’s praise, but found she couldn’t. It was hard not to feel comforted and at ease after talking with Hinata. His honesty shone through his eyes and his every action, and thus Yachi could always trust every word he said to be genuine.

“Thank you, Hinata,” she said, still smiling.

Hinata held the ball he had been playing with still in one hand as he stood up off the ground. With his other hand, he reached out to Yachi. Yachi took the offered hand and stood.

“Don’t forget you’re not alone Yachi,” Hinata said. “The rest of us are still growing alongside you, and we can always offer each other help when we need it. We’re teammates after all!”

Yachi gave an assured nod in response. Since Hinata and Yachi’s hands were still clasped, they tightened their grip for a moment in agreement with Hinata’s statement before letting go.  


End file.
